I shudder to imagine what prompted them to post this sign….
(Another photo from the unsorted 2010-2013 folder I found last night.)
Author Archives: Kelson
Zombie Bakers Use Whole Brain Flour
I found a folder of unsorted photos from my 2010-2013 phone last night and started going through them. I found several gems, like this one!
Rational?
“I’m rational, unlike you, and if you look at this supposed problem rationally, you’ll understand that it can’t possibly be real because I politically disapprove of some of the proposed solutions.”
— Just about every conservative comment on climate change I’ve seen on Quora.
Damn You, Autofocus!
Gotta love it when the camera’s autofocus insists gives you this wonderfully clear image of…the grass in front of the skittish animal you’re trying to get a picture of before it scampers away.
I did manage to get one shot of it before moving on, and then I was able to spot a clearer view of another rabbit during the same hike.
The last few hikes I’ve done at Madrona Marsh, I’ve taken a lot fewer photos. This time…I went a little overboard taking pictures of just about every type of plant or animal I could to post to iNaturalist. Then I narrowed it down to around 40 “good” photos that I’m posting on Flickr over the next week or so. Sadly, my camera battery ran out about halfway through, leaving me with only my phone. Which was perfectly fine for close-ups and landscapes, but not for zoom shots.
*@*@@*!
Not sure if this sign is in Qbert-ese or represents a store that’s named for a swear word…
Compass in the Sky
Two views of a 22-degree circular halo around the sun that I saw on a walk this afternoon.
Halos are a lot more common than I used to think. Then I started actually looking for them. Even on a warm day like today, there can still be ice crystals higher in the atmosphere of the right size and shape to cause a display like this (or even more complicated ones).
Usually I just go for a utilitarian, “got a picture of the halo,” but this time I tried about five different things to block the sun, trying to compose an interesting shot as well. I’m going to have to keep that up!
Preventing Notification Overload
To keep myself from getting distracted by too many notifications on my phone, I ask myself the following questions whenever a new category pops up:
- Will I need to act on it? (Likes/favorites are nice, but I don’t need to respond.)
- How time-sensitive is it? (“Your ride is here” is more time sensitive than planning a get together for next weekend.)
- How important? (“Server down” is more important than a project update. A conversation is more important than a newsletter.)
- Is it actually for me, or is it an ad for the app service?
Then I turn off what I don’t need, turn off sound on the less urgent ones, and customize sounds for the most important ones.
So I hear when a text or instant message comes in, but not email or social media. When I pick up my phone I see emails, mentions & replies, but not favorites or boosts, etc.
It helps me a lot with alert overload. YMMV.